M4P to MP3

Audio file created in the MPEG-4 format, a multimedia container format used to store compressed audio and video data,contains audio encoded with either the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec or the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC).M4A files are similar to MP4 video files since both file types use the MPEG-4 container format. However, M4A files only contain audio data. The use of the ".m4a" extension arose due to the confusion between MPEG-4 video files and MPEG-4 audio-only files.

The iTunes Store provides songs in the M4A format. These songs are encoded with AAC compression, which significantly reduces the size of each file. Songs under DRM copyright protection have an M4P extension.

A list of programs compatible with M4A files:

Since only some programs can support m4a files, you can convert M4A to much more common used audio formats, such as MP3.The following guide will show you how to convert iTunes M4A music to MP3 on Mac OS X with TuneClone Audio Converter for Mac.

Run the converter, and click the top-left "TuneClone -> Preferences…"a window shown as below will appear. Reset the "Path" and "File Names".

Step3. Make settings in iTunes (iTunes 10)

Create a new playlist and import the songs ready to be converted. And rename the new playlist as well.

Right click the playlist you just created and choose "Burn Playlist to Disc".

In the pop-up dialog of "Burn Settings", make settings as below.

Tips: Choose the "Include CD Text" to preserve the music metadata such as name, artist, album names, etc.

Step4. Start to burn

Click the "Burn" button to start burning.

Step5. Find the output files

After the conversion is completed successfully, click the "Reveal in Finder" button to find the output.

Tips: If the total length of the files in the playlist exceeds what a real CD disc can hold (about 79 minutes), the following message will pop up. Just choose the "Audio CDs" to continue the conversion. Finally, the output files will be stored in several folders.

When the burning started, TuneClone will automatically convert the iTunes music to MP3 files. You can open the TuneClone manager screen to check out the burning status.

The most important part lies in selecting the CD burner. Then the software can convert files automatically. It is quite convenient when lots of files are ready to be converted.

User Review

"TuneClone is a very clever program and quickly converted my Mac iTunes files. Very helpful to output my purchased music content to Amazon Cloud for use across my devices."- Peter

"I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. I had 1500+ songs and would have taken over 100 CD's and countless hours with a traditional Burn & Rip method. Thank you for a simple software solution. I can now use these songs on my phone and other personal uses. I am one very happy customer. I've already posted on my Facebook page how simple and great this software worked for me."- Craig